Winni Posted June 25, 2015 at 02:42 PM Report Share Posted June 25, 2015 at 02:42 PM In our Association’s meeting notices, we state that if someone is not able to attend a meeting, to please contact the Secretary and a Proxy will be given to them. We also ask that the Proxy be returned prior to the meeting. We have members of our Association who have asked for a Proxy for meetings (both annual and special) and a Proxy was then given to that person with their name and address typed on it with a line for their signature and date. At the meeting, they turn in the Proxy that has been re-typed with someone else’s name and address, who is also a member, but that person (whose name now appears on the Proxy) did not personally ask for a Proxy. Everyone has the Secretary’s contact information. We even had one person turn in such a Proxy at a special meeting with the unpaid dues of that member, whose name now appeared on the Proxy, who had never attended any meeting of the association. It appears to be a manipulation of a vote. Should that Proxy be accepted by the Board and allowed to be used in voting? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Honemann Posted June 25, 2015 at 03:41 PM Report Share Posted June 25, 2015 at 03:41 PM Take a look at FAQ #10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Novosielski Posted June 25, 2015 at 03:53 PM Report Share Posted June 25, 2015 at 03:53 PM In our Association’s meeting notices, we state that if someone is not able to attend a meeting, to please contact the Secretary and a Proxy will be given to them. We also ask that the Proxy be returned prior to the meeting. Should that Proxy be accepted by the Board and allowed to be used in voting? It doesn't matter what you say in your meeting notices--what do you say in your bylaws? RONR prohibits proxy voting to the maximum extent permissible under the law, so unless you have rules in your bylaws allowing proxies, they are almost certainly invalid. And if you do have rules in your bylaws, that is where you will have to turn for answers. It is the membership, and not the board that is authorized to make all decisions on whether a given ballot is acceptable or not, according to RONR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winni Posted June 25, 2015 at 05:51 PM Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2015 at 05:51 PM The only notation in the By-Laws regarding Proxies state: The personal or proxy representation of at least one quarter of the members in good standingshall be necessary for the transaction of business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Mervosh Posted June 25, 2015 at 06:20 PM Report Share Posted June 25, 2015 at 06:20 PM The only notation in the By-Laws regarding Proxies state: The personal or proxy representation of at least one quarter of the members in good standingshall be necessary for the transaction of business. See the last sentence in FAQ#10 that Mr.Honemann linked for you. We can go no further than that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Brown Posted June 25, 2015 at 08:03 PM Report Share Posted June 25, 2015 at 08:03 PM See the last sentence in FAQ#10 that Mr.Honemann linked for you. We can go no further than that. Well, I think we can go a little further. Winni also asked: We even had one person turn in such a Proxy at a special meeting with the unpaid dues of that member, whose name now appeared on the Proxy, who had never attended any meeting of the association. It appears to be a manipulation of a vote. Should that Proxy be accepted by the Board and allowed to be used in voting? Unless your bylaws restrict the rights of a member whose dues are in arrears, RONR provides that their voting rights cannot be restricted. This provision appears on page 406: "VOTING RIGHTS OF A MEMBER IN ARREARS. A member of a society who is in arrears in payment of his dues, but who has not been formally dropped from the membership rolls and is not under a disciplinary suspension, retains the full rights of a voting member and is entitled to vote except as the bylaws may otherwise provide." In addition, unless your have some applicable bylaw requirement, I fail to see how the fact that he has never attended a previous meeting has anything to do with it. Mr. Honemann and Mr. Mervosh are quite correct that RONR discourages the use of proxies, provides that no guidance for their use and states that you must look to your own bylaws and rules and to any applicable state law for guidance on the use of proxies. As to anything else dealing with your proxies, I'm not going to give an opinion, but will ask a question: Do your rules actually REQUIRE that proxy forms be obtained ONLY from the secretary and that the forms can be requested ONLY by the members who will be granting them and that the proxies MUST be pre-filled in with a particular member's name and address by the secretary in order to be valid? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Novosielski Posted July 3, 2015 at 06:20 AM Report Share Posted July 3, 2015 at 06:20 AM Mr. Honemann and Mr. Mervosh are quite correct that RONR discourages the use of proxies, provides that no guidance for their use and states that you must look to your own bylaws and rules and to any applicable state law for guidance on the use of proxies. Funny, I said the same thing, but apparently was not correct? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edgar Guest Posted July 3, 2015 at 11:04 PM Report Share Posted July 3, 2015 at 11:04 PM Funny, I said the same thing . . . I know. Don't you just hate when that happens? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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